What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?

—“A humpback whale can be 50 feet long and weigh a ton per foot”—this array of wide eyes and open mouths will definitely have viewers responding with wide eyes and open mouths of their own. (Picture book/nonfiction. 6-9)

K-Gr 4-Colorful cut-paper collages provide glimpses of the noses, ears, tails, eyes, mouths, and feet of different creatures, showing that each one uses these body parts in a unique and fascinating manner. Combining a guessing game with factual tidbits, the text offers an attention-grabbing introduction to animal physiology. Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Steve Jenkins contributes another artistically wrought, imaginatively conceived look at the natural world. What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? by Jenkins and wife Robin Page, stages a guessing game. Illustrated with Jenkins's trademark cut-paper art, one spread will show animals' tails (or noses, ears, etc.) as text asks variations of the titular question; turn the page, and the whole bodies of the animals are shown as answers are supplied ("If you're a lizard, you break off your tail to get away"; "If you're a scorpion, your tail can give a nasty sting"). Four pages of illustrated endnotes deliver meaty profiles of the 30 featured creatures. Copyright 2003 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.